In case there was any lingering fear of Nail Yakupov bolting for the Kontinental Hockey League, the Tatar teen further put doubts to rest today with the announcement that he and his family — ““Mom, dad, sister, dog. And me” — are moving to Edmonton. It’s a small thing in one sense, consistent with everything he’s done and said to this point, but surely it’s proof positive that the kid has fully bought into the fact that his future lies not only in North America but right here in River City.

As for the family, why not? In fact welcome to Edmonton to the whole famdamily. May you enjoy many beautiful goals together! No billeting required for your hockey star kin, no concerns about diet, homesickness, or an unstructured home life. Hey, if it works for Alex Ovechkin and Geno Malkin …

In today’s presser Yakupov was asked about what he will do should the NHL not start on time this fall. “Every player has a Plan B. But, it’s inside!” smiled the personable youngster. “So for now, I will just think about the Edmonton Oilers and the NHL, that’s it.”

While all this has been coming together off the ice in Nail’s life-changing summer, the youngster also had the opportunity to showcase his skills in the recent Canada-Russia “Summit” Series. (Well, to call it that you have to be prepared to build a bridge between the twin peaks of Mount Kilamanjaro, to riff off the old Monty Python skit.) But it was a series, with real teams playing real games, which is more than the NHL can promise anytime soon.

It must have been a whirlwind for Yakupov, serving as captain for Russia, including those opening two games in Yaroslavl, the most meaningful hockey there since the Lokomotiv air tragedy and a crucial step in the rebirth of the game. It’s not hard to imagine both the inbound and outbound flights to have been supremely trying for the teenagers on both teams, especially the Russian kids. Two games in two days, then the “hop, step, AND jump” to Halifax for another two-in-two. Right in the dog days of the off-season, to boot.

Yakupov (on the far half wall throughout) did strike for this goal on a lethal one-timer in Game One, delighting the Yaroslavl crowd as can be vicariously experienced in the above amateur video. Have to say it warmed my heart to see the smiling faces celebrating the goal — and, more generally, the game — after what those folks in the Yaroslavl hockey community went through last September.

But throw in that extra layer of emotion on top of a grinding schedule, and it’s no wonder that the kid may have been dragging his butt a little in Game Four of the series. I never could find full stats on the series but I’m pretty sure few if any Canadians suited up for all four of those games, while the recent #1 overall was front and centre each time.

Due to personal circumstances Game Four was my first chance to see the young sniper since he was drafted by the Oilers. (Others are on video, maybe later …) In this one I isolated on Yakupov’s every shift, putting the virtual stopwatch on him in the process and making brief shift notes that ranged from “floating, left zone early, sloppy hockey by both teams” to “good zone entry, then two sharp passes”. I’ve transcribed these at bottom for those who might be interested in parsing Yakupov’s overall effect on the game.

In general terms, Yak flashed his elite skills at frequent intervals, moving the puck quickly and decisively for the most part, with occasional lapses. He showed good bursts of speed on occasion, although I suspect those were tired legs so he picked his spots a little. I found myself in strong agreement with my colleague David Staples’ recent assessment that:

Yakupov also shares the puck exceedingly well. The game doesn’t slow down when the puck comes to him. He doesn’t hold the puck forever, or try to deke out the entire opposing team. Instead, he quickly snaps off a fierce shot, or fires a hard pass, or he rapidly skates the puck to open ice, most often straight at the opposing net.

Overall, in a game/mini-game that extended to 63 minutes, Yakupov played a shade over 17 minutes on 25 shifts that ranged from under 20 seconds to 65. No evidence of a guy overstaying his welcome, a common gripe about some offensively-gifted stars. He certainly did spend a fair bit of time floating, while his d-zone work largely consisted of covering his point, at least until Russia gained control of the puck, when he was active in the transition game. There he looked strong on the right wing wall, often holding the puck up before distributing it to breaking teammates, especially in the early going.

In the second period with his team flagging, Yakupov took the more direct route, attacking the Canadian blueline time and again in possession of the puck, making five successful zone entries in the middle frame alone and two more in the third, with nary a turnover in the process. Each time Yakupov blasted over the line the Russians would end up with a direct shot or possession in the zone. On one of those occasions the puck wound up in the back of the net, with Yakupov recording the secondary assist on the powerplay snipe.

The youngster flashed his first overall talent on one second period rush where he burned two Canadian checkers in rapid succession with the same power move, ducking to his left each time and leaving both for dead in the neutral zone. It gave every appearance of being his go-to move, and got me to thinking that in the offensive zone such a shift would take him wide along the boards on his natural left side, but would be an effective cut into the slot when coming off his preferred right side. It wasn’t the first time in the game that his play reminded me a little of Pavel Bure, also a speedy, left-shooting right winger.

On the night Nail attempted three shots on goal, two of them dangerous. The one time he was set up with a little bit of time to pick his spot, he fired a wicked blast through a defender’s legs which forced perhaps Malcolm Subban’s best save of the night.

Yakupov was a regular on the powerplay in this one, but saw no time on the PK, where he had scored a superb assist in Game Three.

Defensively there were rough edges. Yakupov wound up the night -2, and while he was far removed from being the guilty party in either case, his positioning high in the zone left him in no position to clean up the mess either. That’s going to cause some issues at the NHL level from time to time I expect. Of course they didn’t draft the kid to be a checker, but as Craig MacTavish frequently said, “It’s not what you make but what you leave.” That part of the kid’s game will take time to shore up the decision-making process, but that statement holds for pretty much every 18-year-old forward going.

All things considered, it was a creditable performance by the hot shot, not quite against NHL competition but against top junior stars, a number of whom are older than he is. He conducted himself well and represented both his country and especially Yaroslavl with honour. His display of the Lokomotiv flag in the aftermath of Game Four was a classy touch that won the heart of at least one fan.

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